A Library of Congress Living Legend.
Winner of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters .
Subject of a Peabody Award-winning documentary film, Judy Blume Forever.
One of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023.
29 books, 92 million copies sold, in 40 languages.
Five novels on the American Library Association most banned books list.
Over the last half a century, Judy Blume has climbed to the pinnacle of American literary heights as the first author to write young adult novels that deal with such taboo topics as puberty and sexuality — and the voice of young people hungry for the type of honesty she elevated to an art form.
Then, just when readers thought that she might be satisfied with being the beau ideal of YA narrative, at the age of 40 she found her way into the hearts of adult women, with a New York Times bestseller, Wifey, followed by Summer Sisters and In the Unlikely Event.
We are honored to welcome Judy Blume as she joins us to speak about finding writing as a release, developing her fictional voice, coping with success she’d never imagined and her long-time activism against book banning; in conversation with Zibby Owens, author, podcaster, bookstore owner and CEO of Zibby Media.
Photo of Judy Blume by Elena Seibert.